Chapter 1113: Very Different
A jackdaw was startled outside the window. Jiang Xiaoan suddenly tapped Wu Xia's hair crown with a jade pendant: "Old man, this jade pendant couldn't be from when you were young..."
"Traitor!"
The rosewood pulse pillow flew out of the air, startling the medicine boy so much that he knocked over the bamboo sieve used to dry the medicine.
In the room filled with the fragrance of medicine, Fudong was already walking quickly towards the horse stall, his black cloak rolling up a few dead leaves.
Before dawn, Fu Dong was already packing. Jiang Xiaoan suddenly opened the curtain and walked in: "The sandstorms in Tamu Co are unpredictable, I will protect you."
The silver knife at his waist collided with the jade token, making a crisp sound.
Wu Xia was leaning against the door frame peeling pine nuts. Upon hearing this, he threw the nut shells at the back of his apprentice's head: "You little brat, you think the sea of sand is a picnic?"
The silver needle flickered in the morning light as he twisted his fingertips. "Well, I'll go with you guys this time, to save you two from being swept away by the quicksand."
Xiao Zhan bowed deeply to the ground, with the green jade crown and belt falling from his shoulders.
The old doctor twisted his beard and moved aside: "I am just worried about my child, what does it have to do with you?"
Suddenly he took a half step closer and lowered his voice: "If you were willing to become my disciple back then, you should call me Master now."
After saying that, he glanced proudly at the medicine bag on Jiang Xiaoan's waist, where the unique Nine-Turn Golden Pattern of his master's sect was embroidered.
There was a neighing sound coming from the stables of the princess's mansion; sixteen camels were already equipped with water bags.
When Fu Dong knocked on the carved door, morning dew was dripping along the gilded eaves. Xiao Zhan half-closed the door and whispered, "The drug has just taken effect."
There were a few medicinal stains on his black cuffs, and the strong scent of ambergris was mixed with the bitterness of angelica.
Jiang Xue leaned on the flowing cloud brocade pillow, her pale fingertips hooked on the faded amulet.
The moment Fu Dong touched the ground with one knee, the crimson tassel fell right into her palm.
"This way..."
The princess gasped and pressed her chest, her coral bracelet colliding with the celadon medicine bowl: "I want to see you alive and well, come back to see me!..."
The camel bells shattered into pieces in the wind. Fu Dong clutched the talisman tightly and looked back, the red palace walls had already disappeared behind the sand.
Xiao Zhan's black cloak suddenly appeared on the city wall, and the bronze mirror in his hand reflected the dazzling sunlight - this was the oldest communication signal in the desert.
Jiang Xiaoan suddenly pulled the reins and took out a sheepskin map from his arms. A fresh ink mark somewhere was slightly blurring.
"It is our duty to protect the Lord's safety."
Only half a day after Fu Dong and his companions set out, Yun Zhen hurried to their door.
Although Xiao Zhan suspected that the princess's illness was related to him, he still led people straight to the inner room and urged him to quickly regulate Jiang Xue's breathing.
As the light blue energy flowed out from Yun Zhen's palm, the pale cheeks of the woman on the couch gradually regained their color.
Surprisingly, the princess, who was usually sharp-tongued, remained silent.
Yun Zhen sorted out the medicine box and asked tentatively: "Your Highness is so quiet today, is there something you can't tell me?"
"It is indeed an important matter, but I am afraid that even the miracle doctor can do nothing about it."
Jiang Xue raised half of her body, and when the brocade quilt slipped off, the purple veins on her wrists were exposed.
"Why don't you tell me about it?"
"If I want to recover my martial arts immediately, I can go for a ride tomorrow. Is it possible?"
She suddenly looked up at the other person, her amber pupils reflecting the dancing candlelight.
The silver needle box in Yun Zhen's hand snapped shut, his Adam's apple rolling as he couldn't utter a promise.
The forced suppression of the poison these days has consumed most of my cultivation. If I unseal my internal energy now, I'm afraid...
"Forget it, I'm tired." The moment the curtain fell, Yun Zhen caught a glimpse of that self-deprecating smile.
He clutched the porcelain bottle in his sleeve and walked out of the room, vowing secretly that after he got the Ice Lotus from the Western Regions back, he would make her understand his painstaking efforts.
The urgent news from the border came unexpectedly.
The death knell of Tianshui Kingdom suddenly rang. The new emperor Huangfu Shang not only appointed Jiang Yuyin as the queen, but also made the mixed-race son of the two countries the crown prince.
Jiang Xue stroked the gold-embossed letter thoughtfully - this was completely different from the plan for seizing the throne that the spy had originally reported.
"Prepare two sets of gifts and add the Pearl of the East China Sea to the list of gifts."
She held the red pen over the memorial for a moment, and finally placed her phoenix seal next to the words "Eternal Diplomatic Relations".
If I can gain three years of peace, what does it matter if it is empty talk?
Thousands of miles away, deep in the palace, the black-robed emperor crushed the jade pendant in his hand.
Looking at the glittering debris all over the ground, the image of the red-dressed figure riding a horse and breaking through the palace gate appeared before his eyes again.
Since she dared to use the fake death drug to escape, he would use the whole world as a betrothal gift to see where she could escape to.
Two rounds of carrier pigeons have been cut off from the direction of the Western Regions. According to calculations, Fudong and his team should have crossed the quicksand belt long ago.
Jiang Xue leaned against the carved window to count the hours, and suddenly heard the sound of a copper bell from the eaves. Xiao Zhan put the mink coat on her shoulders:
"The topographic map drawn by Wu Xia has thirteen oases marked, and the twenty accompanying secret guards can all identify the star positions with their eyes closed..."
Before he finished speaking, red fireworks suddenly exploded in the southwest sky, which was clearly a special warning signal made by the military.
"That's true, but the mountains in the Western Regions are high and the roads are long. We don't have enough information here. How can we not be worried?"
"Xiaoxue, just wait a little longer. There will be a messenger coming with news eventually." Xiao Zhan pushed the teacup towards her.
Jiang Xue stroked the rim of the celadon cup, her fingertips unconsciously drawing circles on the mouth of the cup.
The copper bells on the eaves jingled in the wind. She suddenly remembered that when she was teaching Yaoyao to recognize the stars the day before, the little girl pointed to the Cowherd and asked her, "When will Daddy come back to count the stars?"
While he was lost in thought, Xiao Zhan suggested, "The other day the wet nurse said that little Zheng'er can call for mother now. Why don't we call them over to take a look?"
Before he finished speaking, the sound of hurried horse hooves was suddenly heard outside the yard.
The messenger rushed in, covered in dust and dirt, his hands still shaking as he held the bamboo tube.
Xiao Zhan's hand paused as he unfolded the military newspaper, and Jiang Xue clearly saw his knuckles turning white.
After reading the words "Huangfu Shang led his troops to invade the border, General Lan was ambushed and seriously injured", she suddenly stood up and knocked over the tea table, and the porcelain cup shattered to the ground with a crisp sound.
“This doesn’t make sense!”
She paced back and forth clutching the bloodstained silk book, not even noticing her embroidered shoes stepping on broken porcelain: "Lan Feng has always been very cautious in deploying troops, how could he..."
She suddenly stopped talking in the middle of the sentence. The edges of the silk book were deeply creased. The tacit understanding they had during those years of fighting side by side allowed her to guess about 70% of the answer in an instant.
The summoned scout knelt outside the threshold and dared not look up.
Jiang Xue propped herself up against the back of the rosewood chair, her nails almost digging into the carvings: "Repeat the enemy's words verbatim, and if you miss a single word, you will be punished by military law!"
The soldier fell to the ground and stammered, "They...they said that Madam Lan was in the enemy camp..."
At this point he suddenly fell silent and slammed his forehead heavily on the blue brick.
Jiang Xue's eyes flashed with the mandarin duck purse that Caiwei stuffed into her before leaving. The faded red suddenly made her eyes hurt.
"Go on!"
"He called General Lan a cuckold and said his wife was... was..."
The soldier's voice was filled with tears: "They also slandered the young master as a bastard and made up a pornographic song about the humiliation of the lady and sang it in front of the battle."
Xiao Zhan suddenly reached out and covered the back of her cold hand.
Jiang Xue then realized that her whole body was trembling and her throat felt like it was blocked by a ball of cotton wool soaked in tung oil.
In a trance, I heard my own hoarse voice: "Prepare the horses! I want to go to the border myself——"
"Xiaoxue!"
Xiao Zhan pulled her shoulders hard: "You are the Princess Regent now!"
His fingertips felt the wetness on her face, and he was shocked to realize that she had just shed tears.
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